This report reviews the climate change performance of 70 high-, middle- and low-income countries assessed against the ASCOR framework in 2024.
This report reviews the climate change performance of 70 high-, middle- and low-income countries assessed against the ASCOR framework in 2024. Collectively accounting for more than 85% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 90% of global GDP, the country universe covers the key national players in the low-carbon transition. They are also the most relevant countries for investors to incorporate climate change considerations into their sovereign bond evaluations, as together they cover 75–100% of the major sovereign bond market indices.
Key findings from our assessment of 70 countries
Emissions Pathways
- Forty of the 70 countries assessed have reduced their emissions over the past five years and almost all have established medium-term targets.
- Not a single country has a historical emissions trend or 2030 target that aligns with its national 1.5ºC benchmark. Only a few are aligned with their ‘1.5ºC fair share’ (an allocation based on equity principles) in their emissions trends or 2030 targets.
Climate Policies
- Forty out of the 70 countries have established a legal framework for national climate policy through a climate framework law.
- Countries perform poorly on commitments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and production, making finance flows inconsistent with a 1.5ºC future.
Climate Finance
- Most of the developed countries (81%) assessed fail to contribute or commit to their proportional share of the US$100 billion international climate finance goal.
- Only one-third of the developing countries assessed have been transparent about the costs of their mitigation and adaptation measures. This may constrain public and private finance flows towards these objectives.
The report was published by the Transition Pathway Initiative Centre (TPI Centre), the academic partner of the investor-led Assessing Sovereign Climate-related Risks and Opportunities (ASCOR) project. This report was written by Antonina Scheer, Camila Cristancho-Duarte, Simon Dietz, Setenay Hizliok, Johannes Honneth, Sylvan Lutz, Giorgia Monsignori and Carmen Nuzzo of the TPI Centre, and Rory Sullivan, Chronos Sustainability. The authors amended a sentence on page 44 of the report on 29 November 2024 to reflect updated information in relation to Costa Rica.
